“The NikeFuel is designed to progressively fill up its row of colorful LED’s as and when one gets closer to their targets. The Nike+ FuelBand is going to start taking pre-orders for $150”

The Nike+ FuelBand is designed for anyone who wants to be more active. It measures your daily activity and turns it all into NikeFuel. So you can set a goal for every day and then go out and beat it. “Life is a sport. Make it Count.”

The Body Warranty™ wave is about getting the most out of your body. In this wave we find people that want to strive beyond limits. The Human Truth™ is: “I want more out of my body than ever before.”™ This sport band is a way to track your achievements and goals which is motivating in itself. They got the timing of it’s release right because it’s right after the holidays when people are trying to keep their new years resolutions. Personally, for $150, I’d want it to do the exercising FOR ME…  I’ve never been described as “the athletic” type.  However, seeing how daily activity adds up would be very cool.

Check out the video here.

But then I checked out the site and thought whoa! They REALLY want this product to seem manly, which led me to Guys and Dolls™ which is about the extremes of the sexes: “Give me my power tools!” “Give me my power frills!”™

Then I read: “SEX. Get more of it” and saw pic of a swimsuit clad woman being thrown over a dudes shoulder as her scantily clad butt is featured with the tag line: “Swagger. Do it because you can.”

That settled it. Definitely going in Suggestive Selling™.

The Suggestive Selling™ wave is about unashamedly appealing to the reproductive instinct on a visual level. The Human Truth™ is: “I can’t help looking at what’s hot.”™

With other copy like: “Are you a modern warrior? A macho man who could punch a hole in a cement wall while simultaneously banging three girls at the same time?”

They ain’t playin’!

There’s even a part of the site that explains “Peacocking- The Pick Up Artist’s Secret Weapon.” Which is essentially dressing in an eye-catching way in order to attract attention and spark conversation with women. Yes, Alpha Nail is definitely at home in the Suggestive Selling™ wave.

They have a way of tracking your reading speed.  Whaaa? Yes, check out the video here.

“Booktrack represents a new chapter in the evolution of storytelling, and an industry “first” in publishing, by creating synchronized soundtracks for e-books that dramatically boost the reader’s imagination and engagement.”

Just like I find it hard to write while there is a lot of noise around me, I enjoy reading in a quiet environment. However, one can’t always make that happen – especially on public transport, for example. Booktracks is targeting the senses in order to put you in a little sound bubble -that immerses you in the world of your book. Sensory Appeal™ is all about taking aim the senses. This wave has ideas that involve textures, colors, tastes and sounds. The Human Truth™ is: “I want a new sensation.”™ Booktracks and their “Hi Def immersive experience” is a great example of this…  one I’d love to try.

“Customers can buy a glass of wine or a domestic or seasonal beer at a Lafayette, Ind., restaurant that fuses a conventional White Castle with a new concept for the company called Blaze Modern BBQ. Wine costs $4.50 and beers start at $3.”

I guess I just can’t picture sipping wine at a White Castle but perhaps these Blaze Modern BBQ’s will have a bit more “ambiance”.    I’m less surprised that Starbucks is also trialling alcohol at a few locations to boost evening patronage:

“The coffee giant has for the last two years been testing a more community-oriented store concept to boost after office hours traffic, the Chicago Tribune reports. Aside from the usual line-up of pastries, these stores sell savory, small plate options and beer and wine in addition to the selection of coffees and tea. The Seattle-based chain has also been trying out live entertainment, including music, poetry readings or theatre.”

T.G.I Friday’s is going the other way and trialling brunch, while MacDonald’s is making it’s oatmeal available all day.

These companies are wanting their businesses to become more Clockless™. Clockless™ is about catering to consumers that live the Human Truth™: “I want what I want when I want it.”™ In this wave we see brands, products and services that strive to be available to their customers whenever they need it. Whether that means finding 24hr solutions or offering something unexpected that saves an extra trip, they attract the patronage of a hyper-life consumer that doesn’t let the clock tell them when it’s time to buy.

The basic premise is: get a bunch of (probably not sober) alpha males in a kitchen, and let them make the craziest, manliest meals they can possibly conceive of.

Apparently the idea for Epic Meal Time was created when someone filmed the shows “host” eating a Wendy’s hamburger that contained six beef patties and eighteen bacon strips to the theme song from The Terminator. They posted the footage on YouTube, where it gathered thousands of hits. From then on they decided to become the Jackass of the kitchen, where every crazy idea tops the last.

Well, it looks like it might be another attempt to translate internet popularity into TV ratings:

“NBCUniversal’s younger, male-skewing cable network has inked a deal to develop a TV version of the Web’s popular cooking show with “The Soup” producers. G4 has closed a deal to make a pilot with the team behind the hit YouTube cooking show created by Harley Morenstein and friends. The web effort, which regularly features outlandishly high-calorie dishes, has become an Internet phenomenon since its Sept. 2010 launch.”

Epic Meal Time is the epitome of the Guys and Dolls™ wave. This is the sexes at their extreme. Macho dudes and girly girls. Not many things are more macho than meals made with inconceivable amounts of meat, fast food, insane calories and Jack Daniels. The host Harley Morenstein dares you to be as manly as him. I have a feeling this macho version of Paula Deen will be a great fit for G4.

The mysterious street artist has inspired an Australian hotel chain to launch, what some may deem a crazy proposition.

Art Series Hotels are hiding a $15,000 Banksy in one of their Hotels for you to steal. Grab it without getting caught and it’s yours.

“The Bounty ‘No Ball Games’ is part of a series of historical note. In 2007 a group of bandits removed a section of a wall with an angle grinder because Banksy had stenciled around the ‘No Ball Games’ sign on it. The wall was later found on eBay for sale for 20,000 pounds. The lengths some people go to… Art has a history of theft and heist, one which Melbourne features in. In 1986 Picasso’s Weeping Woman was stolen from the NGV and held for ransom. It was later found in a locker at Spencer Street Station – ransom unpaid. Banksy, being Banksy has also done the reverse, and has actually snuck his work into famous galleries to hang alongside more traditional curated art. So now it’s your turn. We want to see if you can steal Banksy. We highly recommend against an angle grinder, but you will need plenty of guile and cunning. Find the art and try and steal it. If you don’t get caught it’s yours to keep. If you do get caught then back up on the wall it goes. No Ball Games will hang from 15 December. Book to stay at Art Series Hotels between 15 Dec and 15 Jan, follow us on Twitter and Facebook for hints on its whereabouts, and let the games begin.”

What a cool example of a company embracing the Barely Legal™ wave. This wave is about boundary stretching and seeing what you can get away with. The Human Truth™ is: “I like to step over the line, but only in short bursts.”™ Art Series Hotels are giving you the chance to be a cat burglar with the possibility of pulling off a big heist -but without the consequences if you get caught red handed.

“The theater expects that etiquette over cell phone use will evolve naturally and allow artists to ban phones from individual performances, but the theater will have a standing policy of allowing nondisruptive cell use during performances. John Haynes, the theater’s executive director, told the Times,“This is the wave of the future for the people we worry about attracting. Simply forbidding it and embarrassing people is not the way to go. So we are wiring the building in anticipation of finding ways to make it work over time.”

The Tateuchi Center in Bellevue, Wash. Doesn’t open till 2014, but when it does, you can text your way through Cat On A Hot Tin Roof all you like. Hmmm am I being a theater snob? I just think its disrespectful to the performers.

Looking at the Clockless™ wave now, I do notice that a lot of the evidence is aimed at the younger generations. The Human Truth™ is: “I want what I want when I want it!”™ And it’s not hard to imagine an average teenager saying that, is it?  This wave is about hyper-life consumers wanting 24hr solutions, but seriously, we can’t turn our beloved phones off for 2 of those 24hrs?? Well at least I know one place where this will never fly… click here to see the Alamo Cinemas humorous video about their no phone policy, which also serves as a cool advertisement for their brand. (strong language warning)

However, it doesn’t belong there amongst all the serious evidence of people trying to be heard and make the world a better place.  This belongs in the Barely Legal™ wave because its a snide “joke” that’s at home in the physiological tier of Maslow’s Hierarchy.  The physiological tier involves the devolved part of us that likes titillation.  It’s about boundary stretching and taboos. I would not go so far as to say these burgers are taboo but they are stretching the line of good taste.

I have to say I’m a fan of what we call speedrepreneurs- those who rush something to the market that references a super current event or pop culture moment. This, however, just seems icky to me somehow. It reminds me of how I felt about the Halloween party at the New York law firm of Steven J. Baum (known as a ‘foreclosure mill’) where the office workers dressed up in “homeless squatter” costumes mocking people that had lost their homes.

Not Classy.

I know this “BLT Steak DC” is trying to be funny,  and even though a $58 Kobe beef, foie gras and gold leaf burger sounds like it should be classy… when you call it’s the 1% burger it’s kind of tacky in my humble opinion.  I also can’t imagine who would order a $9.99 wonderbread patty melt called the 99%…  But then again I don’t understand a lot of things they do in DC.

Well the Japanese have found a way to multi-task daily life and exercise by wearing fortified underwear.  Yes, you read that right:

“The new underpants, from the Tokyo-based Goldwin company, claim that the average 10 stone man who walks 90 minutes a day while wearing them can lose 210 kilocalories weekly – the equivalent of half a litre of beer. Key to the technology implemented in the underwear – which cost £23.52 (Y2,940) and are currently only on sale in Japan – is a resin which is printed on fabric to prevent it from stretching. “The Calorie Shaper Pant technology focuses on the hipline which is the area used by people when walking and climbing stairs. The material here is non-expandable which means they must use their muscles more.” He added: “Calorie burning clothing and footwear are becoming increasingly popular in Japan.” The underpants also boast deodorizing particles, increasingly popular in salaryman clothing particularly during summer months, to keep the garments fresh.”

Apparently this is just the latest in several fitness products that are targeting Japan’s increasingly overweight population.  The backbone of Japan’s economy is its salarymen—white collar workers who think nothing of working 16 hour days and six day week.  Doesn’t leave much time for hitting the gym, so it’s not surprising that calorie burning underwear is getting attention.  However, I’m pretty sure wanting to combine fitness with daily tasks is a universal desire.

I can much better understand people’s excitement over this line up from Lip Smacker:

“Girl Scout Cookie-themed lip balm tubes featuring five famous flavors: Thin Mints, Trefoils, Chocolate Peanut Butter (Tagalongs), Peanut Butter (Do-si-dos), and Coconut Caramel Stripes (Samoas). Finally, a Girl Scout cookie that won’t do a thing to your hips no matter how long it’s on your lips. Available individually or as set ($5). A liquid lip-gloss version will be released next year.”

I know so many people that get excited over Girl Scout Cookies, one would assume the enthusiasm would have to extend to lip balm flavors too. On the other hand, I’m not ashamed to admit I am one of those people who loves sucking the Cheetos flavoring off my fingers, and I have a real hard time getting on board with Cheetos lip balm. Again: errrrrr

I’m thinking sweet flavors are probably the key here.

Anyway, it’s a fun example of Sensory Appeal™. This wave is about targeting the senses with new textures, colors, tastes and sounds.

When we study this wave we always find fun examples of companies that put a new twist on things. Sometimes innovation doesn’t have to be about re-inventing the wheel, it can be about taking something familiar and putting it in a whole new form or function.